Hall Elementary Teacher Newsletter
November 10, 2014
Upcoming Events
November 11- NO SCHOOL
November 13- PST Meetings
November 18- Thanksgiving Dinner
November 21- Turn in Progress Reports
November 24-28 - NO SCHOOL
TO DO
This Week
Monday:
Tuesday: NO SCHOOL
Wednesday: PST Meetings
Thursday: Global Scholar introduction during planning - bring laptops
Friday:
THANK YOU for being such a blessing to me! Your dedication to our school does not go unnoticed! Y'all are the best!
Box Top Winners
Reminders
From the Other Mrs. Mitchell
2nd Grade Teachers should encourage students with a ZPD of 2.0 or greater to quiz on chapter books when they have achieved "Independent Reader" status. Use teacher judgement on the number of chapter books the students should read each week. These students need the exposure of reading and learning to comprehend longer text. Reading transitional chapter books are also encouraged for students who are not ready to read chapter books. Please inform me so that I may direct these students to the books.
3-5 Teachers: Please monitor students' book levels, books that are being checked out from the library, and quiz grades. There is evidence that students are not being frequently monitored. Students are to quiz on both books before returning them to the media center. If students are not scoring 90% or greater on AR quizzes, lower their ZPD until he/she is successful. Encourage students to focus on quality reading rather than quantity. More time should be focused on total understanding of the text before students quiz on books. Encourage students to partner read and discuss the text before quizzing. Graphic organizers can also be used to monitor comprehension of the text. Studies show that student whose engaged time is 35 minutes and achieve 90% accuracy on quizzes gain more knowledge from their reading.
Book Room Issues: If you acquire books from the book room, please stop by the media center to check them out. These resources have to be counted and verified. Ms. Miller also asked that you write the name of the crate that the resource belongs. Please return used resources to the library in a timely manner.
From Mrs. Gray
Teachers 2-5,
Ms. Huebach will be here on Monday to meet with 3rd Grade on Soil Conservation. She has asked that all surveys and sign in sheets (the students must fill these in as her documentation of being here) be turned in at that time. If you will place them in my box or bring them to my room, I will make sure she gets them. She will be in the building from 1040-130.
Document Links
Weekly Professional Development
Pick the quote that resonates with you the most. Use that quote for your weekly reflection below.
Teaching with Poverty in Mind: What Being Poor Does to Kids’ Brains and What Schools Can Do About It
- “Encourage teachers to feel empathy rather than pity; kids will appreciate your ability to know what it’s like to be in their shoes.”
- “When students feel socialized and accepted, they perform better academically.”
- “You can’t change what’s in your students’ bank account, but you can change what’s in their emotional account.”
- “When educators believe students are competent, students tend to perform better; conversely, when educators believe students have deficits, students tend to perform more poorly.”
- “One of the most powerful ways to engage students is to let them take charge of their own learning.”
submit reflections by Sunday, November 16.